fancy-pants

We've started a tradition in my house. Once a week or so, my mom comes over and we cook dinner and watch Downton Abbey. The first week, I wasn't really on the mood to cook anything, so we ordered a pizza. But this time around, I was feeling very festive. Even though it was a Monday, I decided it was time to Party Food Wednesday-it.

I saw this shrimp recipe on pinterest recently, and it reminded me of an amazing dish that my friend Shannon once made. I remember it being super easy and major delicious, which was what I was going for. Actually, this Party Food Wednesday Monday turned out to be a combination of some of my favorite girls' nights in recent history...

I threw together an antipasto salad of fresh mozzarella, basil, cherry tomatoes, salami, oil and balsamic vinegar over a slice of grilled italian bread.

Publix has just started carrying their own gourmet cheeses, which makes me very happy. I put together a quick cheese board with cranberry cheddar, honey goat, pecorino, and strawberries. I toasted sliced baguette and put out some white truffle oil and balsamic vinegar for drizzling.


I sautéed a few scallops in butter, then made a glaze with a splash of the Spanish white wine that I picked up. Remember?

The shrimp with just tossed in a baking dish with a little cubed butter, a sliced lemon, and italian seasoning. I baked it for about 15 minutes at 350.

perfecto

KT's new decanter

The wines we enjoyed were a Spanish white and a Rioja. I'm no wine connoisseur by any means, but I know that I like Spanish wines, and that these claimed to be perfect with small bites, seafood, and cheeses. That's all I need to know.

Actually, for all you Jacksonvillians, The Grotto in San Marco does a really fun wine tasting on Thursday evenings. I'm thinking I might become a regular. Stop by and see us, have some delicious wines and tapas, and check out this painting:

it's called "Art Opening", but we call it "Sisters"

What about you guys... Is there a wine and cheese combination that I must try? Are there any food/wine-related local events that you enjoy? Who is your favorite Downton Abbey resident? Will that rascal Thomas ever get what's coming to him?

m

post script

I instagramed this the other day and got a few comments on it, so I wanted to share...

It's just a little snack I threw together in no time and very little effort. All it is is italian bread grilled on a cast-iron grill pan. I tossed a handful of cherry tomatoes in the pan until they got juicy and were about to burst. Then I topped them with sea salt and olive oil.

Ta-da!

roots and gills

One thing I could never quite figure out in Boston (and I have to admit, I didn't try as hard as I could've...) is gardening. I had a little herb garden in my apartment that didn't last very long. I'm used to twice as much sunshine, ergo, about double the possibilities as far as produce. 

In addition to my mom's tomatoes and peppers, I've started growing my own cherry tomatoes, sage, parsley, cilantro and rosemary.

Last week, I took some things over to Madaline's so I could cook while she rested took care of her twins. I tried the recipe featured on this month's bon appetit. It turned out so good, that I decided to make it again for my family, with a couple of additions.

additions #1 and #2

I made the yogurt sauce earlier in the day. With that out of the way, I started by boiling the beets. I've never cooked beets myself, but I'm told that they bleed if you don't prepare them before cutting into them.

As for the cauliflower, I decided to keep it simple. I sliced them very thin, sprinkled them with some olive oil, sea salt, and a few springs of thyme, and roasted them with the sliced beets.

(they still bled a little)

I also added some shredded carrot and halved cherry tomatoes to a cup of whole wheat cous cous, for another quick and easy side dish.

Usually when I make salmon, I use a different sauce made with sour cream. This yogurt sauce (almost exactly like tzaziki) is just as delicious and much better for you. But the big surprise was the roasted veggies. I honestly can't remember the last time I ate cauliflower, but I know I was young and I didn't like it. Roasted with salt and thyme was pretty tasty! This is my new favorite dinner, hands-down. It's shout-your-lungs-out good.

Be honest. The second you hear the word "beets", this cartoon band comes to mind...

You're welcome.

Now that I'm a beet and cauliflower convert, what are your favorite ways to prepare them? What are you taking to the Fourth of July cookout?
m

a very lovely engagement [& dinner]

We got the head's-up from Kelly's boyfriend Kyle that Saturday was The Day. As soon as they left the house for their day-date, Katie, Blair and I threw together the fastest Congrats Party you've ever seen. With a handful of close friends and family on stand-by, Katie ran to Publix to get a cake, Blair made house calls tracking down a couple guests we couldn't reach by phone, and I set up the house.

By 3pm, we were all sitting around, waiting for a call. Finally, Kelly's friends' phones started ringing, and we knew they were headed home...

we got her good

Katie and Max, excited

Bruce, notsomuch

champagne wishes

telling the story

showing off the ring

Congrats Kelly and Kyle!

My dad was working while all this was going on, so we had him over for dinner a little while later. On the menu were celebratory mussels in tomato sauce, and spinach artichoke dip. THIS was everyone's favorite dinner so far. I wish I could tell you what I did differently to make this my best red sauce to date, but I just kept tasting and tweaking. I used red pepper flakes, fresh basil, two cans of tomato sauce and one can of whole stewed tomatoes. When everything was almost ready, I tossed in the mussels and put the lid on.

The artichoke dip is my mom's recipe:

1c mayo (or greek yogurt)
1c garlic parmesan cheese
1 can artichoke hearts
bake for 20 minutes at 375

I didn't have garlic parmesan, so I added a spoonful or so of minced garlic. I also added a handful of spinach, which turned out to be a good call.

dinner in a jar

Even though I haven't been writing much lately, I have been cooking more than ever. I've made pizza from scratch several times, pastas, and salads.

And a couple weeks ago, I finally got around to making these. They were not only delicious, but so fun to make. I'm thinking about all the different flavors I can experiment with next time.

Oh, and remember these?

I mixed the lemon artichoke pesto with a little mayo and some parmesan cheese, baked it and out came the perfect dip for my rosemary flatbread.

For dinner, I used the sweet pepper sauce on some amazing pasta from my favorite Italian grocery in Boston, Salumeria. I mixed it with some red wine and added some fresh zucchini. Kelly said it was her favorite meal so far... and I might have to agree. We used the jar of olive pesto on some toasted italian bread.

And that is how I used those three jars to feed the masses.

In other news, we had a very exciting event yesterday. Stay tuned and Ill try to update you sooner rather than later.
m

more of the same, and cook's block

My mom has been giving me quite a bit of produce from her garden lately. The other day, I received all the ingredients for a delicious Greek salad (minus the olives-- but does an authentic Greek salad have olives?). 

I topped it off with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper.

My dad called to chat and I ended up inviting him over for dinner. In less than 40 minutes, we were sitting at the table to a complete dinner, whipped up in a flash!

I sauteed some broccoli in a little butter, and made some mashed potatoes, which turned out awesome.

Of course, we had to have some dinner music. I listened to this record 24/7 when I was younger, and lately, my dad puts it on every time he comes over. On the Radio was always my favorite, but MacAurther Park is a close second.

isn't she lovely? 

The chicken is from Publix. Now that I'm back in Florida, I don't really feel the need to fry it up myself. I will, however, be making my own mashed potatoes again. Next time I think I'll make them a little fancier.

This past weekend, we got our first tropical storm, Beryl. Because of the way we are situated in Florida's little dip, Jacksonville doesn't usually get the worst of Florida's storms. So being prepared meant having plenty of board games and flashlights, in case we lost power. We never did, but the following morning, my mom asked if we wanted to come over for lunch. A friend in the neighborhood had lost power, so about 8 of us gathered at my mom's for what turned out to be a Beryl Party...

I love this yard

Finally, last night I took the last of the produce from my mom and made some pizzas for me, my sisters and their boyfriends. I used the homemade pizza dough recipe from last year's baking adventure and made a couple different options. I have to say, it turned out much better this time around. I didn't add as much flour, I flavored it with a little garlic salt, and I let it sit a little longer. I rolled it out a bit thinner as well, so I got a thinner, crispier crust. It was delicious.

The first was a tomato, basil and sliced mozzarella pizza with oil and balsamic vinegar.

The second had sliced zucchini, onion, garlic tomato sauce, mozzarella and chopped basil.

After dinner, Katie made a batch of brownies, which we had a la mode, and watched The Bachelorette. So, that's just a glimpse of some of the cooking I've been doing for my household this week. Katie told me that she enjoys having a wife.

It's almost time for me to shift my attention the the upcoming school year, lesson planning, and classroom arranging.

Now for a disclaimer: I've only been grocery shopping once since I moved back. Between my mom's garden, my penchant for making do with what's on hand, and my not feeling completely settled yet,  my cooking hasn't been incredibly creative. I still want to show you what I'm up to, but with the promise that I will step it up a notch once this little kitchen becomes my own.

There are a few things I've been meaning to try, actually. Parmesan crisps, homemade flavored water crackers, and something with these:

Have any of you every done anything fun with these? I'm looking for some interesting ideas, so speak up if you have any!

What have you been cooking up lately? How did you Floridians weather the storm?
m

lately

Besides all the unpacking and settling, there has been an awful lot of cooking going on round these parts. Here's a quick recap...

[greek, broccoli & cheddar quiches]

[at Intuition Ale Works]

[fresh market tomato and homemade bleu cheese dressing]

[max's spot while I'm cooking]

[chicken broccoli bow tie pasta, w homemade white sauce]

[steaming some oysters]

[southern style]

[more southern style]

[Nathan]

[stir fry fixins']

[stir fry chicken & shrimp w fried rice]

[cherry cheesecake]

It still hasn't registered in that I'm here indefinitely. I think it still feels like I'm on vacation. Hopefully once I start seeing more friends and family and start working again, it will feel real. In the meantime, I'm working on changing my vampire complexion without bursting into flames. It's a fine line. Wish me luck.

m